Breaking Out Read Online Free PDF Page A

grinned, pleased by the opportunity to spend time with the hot
female ranger. “You’re lucky ‘cause I’m great from every
angle.”
    I frowned, looking up the hill in the
direction of camp. That was going to be one hell of a walk,
especially barefoot. The ground was rough, but if I used any magic
to protect our bare feet, she’d know right away. Good thing
shifters healed quickly. I tried another tactic, “Aren’t you afraid
some hiker’s gonna freak when they see us nude?” And if she let us
shift, I’d be shifting to leopard this time around.
    “You’re not all that scary and it’s better
than running into a bear and a big cat.” She fished in her
saddlebags, drawing out two towels and tossing us one each. “Wrap
these around yourselves.”
    I knotted it at my waist and Jay cracked up,
adding an accent. “Aye, laddie, you’re lookin’ a fine sight, tis
true. But your tartan seems to have faded in the wash.”
    “This is serious.” I hissed, annoyed that
we’d gotten ourselves in this ridiculous predicament. Thank the
gods Sash and Rick weren’t around. I’d never live this down.
    As I struggled to secure the knot so the
towel wouldn’t slip off my hips, I stole another glance at the
female. If she’d been any other species I would have heard her
coming, but because she’d taken the lines, she’d appeared without
warning. I should’ve been prepared for something like this.
    Jay got my attention when he slapped at his
hips. “This is all muscle, me lad.”
    “Good thing, ‘cause walking up that hill
barefoot isn’t going to be easy.” Samson began barking at the
horse, making an enormous racket. I whispered, happy that Samson
had given me the opportunity to speak privately. “You’re coming
onto a fae .”
    “Holy crap. Dangerous?”
    “I’m pretty sure she’s full blood, but she
doesn’t seem dangerous. It’s just so weird to see her working as a
ranger. The fae don’t usually take jobs in the human world. Maybe
she owes a debt. Or maybe she is half fae and likes living
here.”
    Jay handled the situation in his usual way.
“Your lead,” meaning he’d follow mine. Although he was more than
capable of thinking on his feet, Jay would always defer to me when
there were other supernaturals involved. I had a lot more
experience with different races, having spent time in both Faerie
and the Demon Realm.
    But here was a fae who didn’t advertise the
fact, even though she knew we were shifters and not human. She
remounted her horse, soothing him with a few gentle words. Her
movements were graceful, but her manner was more American girl than
Fae lady. Maybe she’d left her sidhe to explore the human world and
had been gone a very long time. There was no way to tell how old
she was by looking at her, which was the case with all the
supernatural races I’d come in contact with.
    I had an idea that would save all of us a
whole lot of time. She’d be surprised, but too bad. “You could take
us back through the lines.”
    Realizing she’d been outed, she looked
uncomfortable, almost nervous. “I’d rather make you walk.”
    “Why? Your magic not up to snuff?” Jay
teased.
    “Shut up and start walking.” Whoa. That sure
didn’t sound anything like a Fae lady. Jay managed to push her
buttons without much effort. I noticed her palming her revolver and
suddenly she was no longer the friendly park ranger looking out for
our best interests. This female was dangerous. If only I could talk
to Jay mind to mind.
    Icy fingers clawed their way up my back. Had
she been looking for me or did she just stumble upon us like she
said? Her aura was fluxing all over the place, a sign of emotional
distress and also a great indicator that someone wasn’t telling the
truth. She might be working for someone else. Naberia? No. It
wasn’t likely that a fae would work for a demon.
    “Are we really walking back to camp?” Jay
asked. I nodded. He mouthed a few curses.
    “Yeah,” I muttered. “Stay